Showing posts with label EMR Implementation. Show all posts

Words of advice to help embrace technology prior to EMR installation.....

Published on Healthcare IT News (http://www.healthcareitnews.com/)

10 technologies to embrace before EMRs

By Michelle McNickle, Web Content Producer

Created 10/31/2011

It's no secret EMRs can be complex and confusing, and despite the buzz surrounding their implementation, health IT expert Shahid Shah believes some organizations are better off taking things slow.

"Although most people who are new to healthcare IT always point to EMRs as the most important application, there are many different healthcare IT applications that make up the 'industry' as a whole," said Shah. "When you’re dealing with healthcare IT, EMRs might be a good entry point for some folks, but it’s actually more likely that EMRs aren’t your first place to start your automation journey."

So to help with deciding where your first point of entry into healthcare IT should be, Shah gave us his top 10 technologies to embrace before jumping into an EMR:

1. ePrescribing. According to Shah, ePrescribing is a great way to begin automation since it’s a fast way to see how much slower the digital process is at capturing clinical data. “If ePrescribing alone makes you slower in your job, EMRs will likely affect you even more,” he said. “If you’re productive with ePrescribing, then EMRs, in general, will make you more productive too.”
2. Email. “Internal office messaging and email is a great place to start,” said Shah. “If you haven’t started your office automation journey here, you should.” But, beware of HIPAA, he added. Although it doesn’t prohibit the use of email for sending electronic PHI records, its Security Rule specifies standards for making transmission of PHI via email secure. Regulations include standards for access control, integrity and transmission security.
[See also: EMR links Montana centers.]
3. Microsoft Office 365 and Google apps. When it comes to scheduling and document sharing, “Google and Microsoft have some very nice online tools for managing contacts, or patients, and scheduling appointments,” said Shah. In addition, both tools have “dirt simple” documentation management, he said, which allows everyone in the office to be on the same page. “Before you jump into full-fledged EMRs, see if these basic, free tools can do the job for you."
4. Clinical groupware. This new category of software is an evolving model for the development and deployment of HIT platforms and applications. Shah said the technology helps streamline work and prioritize according to patient. “This is a new category of software that allows you to collaborate with colleagues on your most time-consuming or most needy patients and leave the remainder of them as is,” he said. “By automating what’s taking the most of your time, you don’t worry about the majority of patients who aren’t.”
5. Patient registry and CCR bulletin board. “If you’re just looking for basic patient population management and not detailed office automation, then patient registries and CCR databases are a great start,” said Shah. Although they don’t necessarily help with workflow, they do manage patient summaries. In fact, patient registries have been proven to improve chronic disease care. An article published by the AAFP explains how, although an EMR manages chronic diseases in a proactive and organized fashion, a commercially available spreadsheet program offers the same benefits. “For example, using a spreadsheet program, [such as Microsoft Excel or a database program, like Microsoft Access] you can easily create a list (or registry) of your practice’s patients with a given chronic disease and then use that list to track key measures and remind you and your staff automatically when patients need certain labs and preventive services,” according to the article.
Continued on the next page.
6. Document imaging. “Scanning and storing your paper documents is something that affects everyone,” said Shah. “All scanners come with some basic imaging software that you can use for free.” And once you’re good at scanning and paper digitalization, he said, you can move to “medical grade” document management that can improve productivity even more.
[See also: EMR improves rural healthcare.]
7. Clinical content repository (CMS). Open source systems, like Drupal and Joomla, do a great job of content management, said Shah. “And they can be adapted to do clinical content management.” Both Joomla and Drupal offer users flexibility to change and manage content on their own. And, not to mention, a clinical content repository allows for easy searching, cross-correlation, and simple updates. One success story includes Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, which implemented a clinical content repository to collaborate with other research facilities and create a database that included information from a significant number of trials, as well as numerical data from blood and tissue analyses.
8. Electronic lab reporting (ELR). “If labs are taking up most of your time, you can automate them pretty easily with web-based lab reporting systems,” said Shah. ELR has many benefits, including timeliness, reduction of manual data entry errors, and more complete reports. It’s been promoted as a public health priority for the past several years, and since it’s a meaningful use objective, its adoption is being accelerated.
9. Electronic transcribing. On the flip side, if clinical note taking is eating up most of your time, consider automating it by using electronic transcribing, suggested Shah. Additionally, electronic transcribing will help on your journey to adopting an EMR by maintaining an optimal, popular dictation interface, creating a document-sharing system among multiple locations, and reducing transcription expenditures by reducing the number of lines transcribed.
10. Speech recognition. Shah said speech recognition is another “point solution” to helping with capturing clinical notes. “You can get a system up and running for under $250,” he said. And today’s speech recognition software can be do more than pure dictation. Most systems can be used to manage email as well as speed up information turnaround and protect employees from repetitive stress injuries. Additionally, the software can be integrated with most EMRs.
Follow Michelle McNickle on Twitter at @Michelle_writes

Source URL: http://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/10-technologies-embrace-emrs

Links:
[1] http://healthcareitnews.com/news/10-things-you-hate-about-your-emr
[2] http://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/emr-links-montana-centers
[3] http://www.aafp.org/fpm/2006/0400/p47.html%22%20%5Cl%20%22fpm20060400p47-bt1
[4] http://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/emr-improves-rural-healthcare
[5] http://www.marklogic.com/pdfs/Cedars.pdf

Please excuse our abscence.....

Good morning faithful MSO Solutions, LLC blogger fans!!! Please excuse our abscence in the next few weeks as we are VERY busy with a large Practice Management/EHR implemenation projects. While we may not have time to post updates, we do have time for any existing or new customers.

Please visit our website, MSO Solutions, LLC to view our services and see how we can help you improve your IT infrastructure!!!

~Jennifer

Don't Forget The October 3 Deadline to Qualify for Meaningful Use Before the End of the Year!!

Published on Government Health IT (http://www.govhealthit.com/)

EHR incentive program ramps up to 90,000 providers

By Mary Mosquera

Created 2011-09-14 20:57

Physicians and hospitals signed up in droves in August to participate in the meaningful use incentive program, with 13,000 registering, a 30 percent jump from July, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
As of the end of August, a total of 90,000 eligible physicians, other professionals and hospitals are taking part in the Medicare and Medicaid electronic health records (EHR) incentive programs, said Robert Anthony, a specialist in CMS’ Office of e-Health Standards and Services.
In July, that total was 77,000 providers.
Drilling down into the numbers, CMS paid Medicare incentives to 1,000 physicians in August, nearly double the number of clinicians paid in July, which was double the number of those paid in June, he said. About half of all physicians who have been paid under the Medicare program were paid in August. Physicians who demonstrate the first stage of meaningful use in 2011 or 2012 can receive $18,000.
“When we launched in April, we had a trickle, and that trickle is turning into a faucet opening up a little more. If this trend holds, we’ll have the faucet fully going,” Anthony said at the Sept. 14 meeting of the Health IT Policy Committee, which advises the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT.
Among evidence that has emerged is that providers across the age spectrum are participating in the meaningful use program, “despite the sentiment that was voiced that older physicians wouldn’t be interested since they are close to retiring,” he said. However, he cautioned that the sample is still small.
On the Medicaid side, 23 states have opened their incentive program as of August. When larger states, such as California, start up their programs at the end of the year, “Medicaid payments will spike quickly,” said Robert Tagalicod, director of CMS’ Office of e-Health Standards and Services.
Close to 1,300 physicians and other eligible professionals received payments, 23 percent more than in July. In August, $150 million in Medicaid incentives were paid, a little less than half of the total year to date, Anthony said.
CMS issued a total of $264 million in payments in August, twice as much as paid out in July, and $652 million for the year to date, he said.
ONC and CMS are coordinating more of their activities and sharing more data, such as about the nearly 100,000 providers who have signed up to work with the 62 regional health IT extensions centers across the country, Tagalicod said.
CMS will be able to “match up provider numbers to the data on geography, practice size and health IT vendor” to understand who is meeting meaningful use and where, he said. The extension centers, which ONC has funded, aim to assist physicians overcome the hurdles of deploying certified EHRs and becoming meaningful users.

Source URL: http://www.govhealthit.com/news/ehr-incentive-program-ramps-90000-providers

Links:
[1] http://www.cms.gov/EHRIncentivePrograms/01_Overview.asp#TopOfPage
[2] http://govhealthit.com/news/cms-counts-early-ehr-incentive-adopters
[3] http://www.govhealthit.com/news/cms-explains-how-get-paid-ehr-incentives
[4] http://www.govhealthit.com/../../../../../../news/qa-how-meaningful-use-clashing-icd-10

5 Keys to EMR Usability

Published on Healthcare IT News (http://www.healthcareitnews.com/)

5 keys to EMR usability

By Michelle McNickle, Web Content Producer

Created 09/06/2011

Usability: the concept is often at the root of slow adoption of EMR systems, and rightfully so. Although effective training and implementation methods affect user adoption rates as well, poor usability has a strong impact on productivity, error rate, and user satisfaction.
And usability should be considered more than just user satisfaction, according to Rosemarie Nelson, principal of the MGMA Consulting Group. The concept is far more complex, and to Nelson, it’s synonymous with workflow integration. “Too much attention is given to the number of clicks and screens, when what should be considered is how and when information is presented,” she said.
Dr. Steve Waldren, MD, Director of the American Academy of Family Physicians’ Center for Health IT, explained that when it comes to understanding usability, it’s essential to consider utility as well. “Usability is subjective in many ways,” he said. “It has to do with the functionality of the system. Utility is making sure the system does the things you need it to do.”
[See also: Usability key to wide EMR adoption.]
So what determines if an EMR is useable? Better yet, how can prospective users ensure a system won’t result in headaches over lost productivity? According to Nelson, the first step is to recognize no system is perfect.
“The problem for most providers is they, nor their vendor implementation team, look for that commonsense template: the one that fits a majority of patient visits, not the ‘perfect’ template that allows visits for all patients to be documented. There is just too much variation to expect 100 percent.”
With that in mind, here are five additional elements to consider when it comes to EMR usability.
Supportiveness: According to both Waldren and Nelson, the system should support workflow. “It’s not about a single user,” said Waldren. “It’s about an entire practice.” Waldren suggests presenting vendors with three clinical scenarios: the most common instances at a practice, the most challenging instances at a practice, and the most number of interactions among staff. That way, it’s evident how the system supports specific workflow. “I suggest doing two sets of the scenarios,” he said. “One that you present the vendor ahead of time, and the second during the demo. Then you can see the system’s flexibility to take care of each scenario.”
Flexibility: Nelson considers flexibility to be key, not just within the system, but also with those using it. “Usability is all about integrating a tool into a provider’s day,” she said. To illustrate, she suggests considering the evolution of the phone. “We started with one phone, then we add extensions,” she said. “Then, we came up with portable phones because our work is mobile. We found that we needed phones to follow us, not us having to go to the phone.” Since usability can become complicated, she said, the way a provider uses the tool might evolve as he/she becomes comfortable with improvements in workflow and operational efficiencies. Therefore, it’s essential to change how he/she interacts with the device and the software.
Continued on next page.
Ease of Learning/ Naturalness: Is the system burdensome and clunky? To be sure it isn’t, Nelson suggests providers take a close look at how they interact with their nurses when using the EMR in the demo. This goes for both patient encounters in the office and on the telephone, as well as incoming documentation, like test results and correspondence. “If it appears cumbersome or redundant, [physicians won’t] achieve the intended benefits because [they] just won’t use those features,” she said. “The best way to observe and understand the dance between nurse and provider is by taking a trip to see the EMR in operation at a practice.” Both the nurse and the provider should visit the site, said Nelson, to fully experience the change they’ll have to adapt to in their own office setting.
Effectiveness: Although an EMR’s effectiveness to streamline workflow is obvious when considering its usability, Waldren said providers should also consider the changes taking place in healthcare. “The current is based on volume: patients, procedures, etc.,” he said. “Patients aren’t connected. The future is value-based and consumer directed. Clinical data will be used to measure quality.” With that in mind, Waldren says it’s essential to find a system that will effectively straddle both worlds.
Efficiency: To Nelson, an EMR should save time, and even the smallest aspects of a system could mean wasted hours. However, some EMRs do a good job of allowing a nurse and a provider to easily work on the same computer station with fast log-out/log-in. “This keeps the active patient online to allow for the concurrent work of the provider and nurse. Even something as simple as keeping the electronic chart ‘open’ on the desktop can be a boon to workflow; a nurse or provider is often in one patient’s chart when a phone call interrupts their work, and they need to open another chart. But, of course, they don’t want to lose the one they are working on.”
One thing is for certain when it comes to EMRs and their usability: it’s an evolution that’s essentially controlled by the user. “EMR usability must evolve similarly in that as we try to use it within our day, we can see where improvements can be made,” said Nelson.

Source URL: http://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/5-keys-emr-usability

Links:
[1] http://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/usability-key-wide-emr-adoption

Electronic Health Record Implementation and Consulting

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5 Keys to EMR Usability

Published on Healthcare IT News (http://www.healthcareitnews.com/)

5 keys to EMR usability

By Michelle McNickle, Web Content Producer

Created 09/06/2011

Usability: the concept is often at the root of slow adoption of EMR systems, and rightfully so. Although effective training and implementation methods affect user adoption rates as well, poor usability has a strong impact on productivity, error rate, and user satisfaction.
And usability should be considered more than just user satisfaction, according to Rosemarie Nelson, principal of the MGMA Consulting Group. The concept is far more complex, and to Nelson, it’s synonymous with workflow integration. “Too much attention is given to the number of clicks and screens, when what should be considered is how and when information is presented,” she said.
Dr. Steve Waldren, MD, Director of the American Academy of Family Physicians’ Center for Health IT, explained that when it comes to understanding usability, it’s essential to consider utility as well. “Usability is subjective in many ways,” he said. “It has to do with the functionality of the system. Utility is making sure the system does the things you need it to do.”
So what determines if an EMR is useable? Better yet, how can prospective users ensure a system won’t result in headaches over lost productivity? According to Nelson, the first step is to recognize no system is perfect.
“The problem for most providers is they, nor their vendor implementation team, look for that commonsense template: the one that fits a majority of patient visits, not the ‘perfect’ template that allows visits for all patients to be documented. There is just too much variation to expect 100 percent.”
With that in mind, here are five additional elements to consider when it comes to EMR usability.
Supportiveness: According to both Waldren and Nelson, the system should support workflow. “It’s not about a single user,” said Waldren. “It’s about an entire practice.” Waldren suggests presenting vendors with three clinical scenarios: the most common instances at a practice, the most challenging instances at a practice, and the most number of interactions among staff. That way, it’s evident how the system supports specific workflow. “I suggest doing two sets of the scenarios,” he said. “One that you present the vendor ahead of time, and the second during the demo. Then you can see the system’s flexibility to take care of each scenario.”
Flexibility: Nelson considers flexibility to be key, not just within the system, but also with those using it. “Usability is all about integrating a tool into a provider’s day,” she said. To illustrate, she suggests considering the evolution of the phone. “We started with one phone, then we add extensions,” she said. “Then, we came up with portable phones because our work is mobile. We found that we needed phones to follow us, not us having to go to the phone.” Since usability can become complicated, she said, the way a provider uses the tool might evolve as he/she becomes comfortable with improvements in workflow and operational efficiencies. Therefore, it’s essential to change how he/she interacts with the device and the software.
Ease of Learning/ Naturalness: Is the system burdensome and clunky? To be sure it isn’t, Nelson suggests providers take a close look at how they interact with their nurses when using the EMR in the demo. This goes for both patient encounters in the office and on the telephone, as well as incoming documentation, like test results and correspondence. “If it appears cumbersome or redundant, [physicians won’t] achieve the intended benefits because [they] just won’t use those features,” she said. “The best way to observe and understand the dance between nurse and provider is by taking a trip to see the EMR in operation at a practice.” Both the nurse and the provider should visit the site, said Nelson, to fully experience the change they’ll have to adapt to in their own office setting.
Effectiveness: Although an EMR’s effectiveness to streamline workflow is obvious when considering its usability, Waldren said providers should also consider the changes taking place in healthcare. “The current is based on volume: patients, procedures, etc.,” he said. “Patients aren’t connected. The future is value-based and consumer directed. Clinical data will be used to measure quality.” With that in mind, Waldren says it’s essential to find a system that will effectively straddle both worlds.
Efficiency: To Nelson, an EMR should save time, and even the smallest aspects of a system could mean wasted hours. However, some EMRs do a good job of allowing a nurse and a provider to easily work on the same computer station with fast log-out/log-in. “This keeps the active patient online to allow for the concurrent work of the provider and nurse. Even something as simple as keeping the electronic chart ‘open’ on the desktop can be a boon to workflow; a nurse or provider is often in one patient’s chart when a phone call interrupts their work, and they need to open another chart. But, of course, they don’t want to lose the one they are working on.”
One thing is for certain when it comes to EMRs and their usability: it’s an evolution that’s essentially controlled by the user. “EMR usability must evolve similarly in that as we try to use it within our day, we can see where improvements can be made,” said Nelson.

Source URL: http://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/5-keys-emr-usability

Links:
[1] http://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/usability-key-wide-emr-adoption

How to Successfully Navigate Your EHR Implementation

I'd read an article about this topic a couple years ago and i should to say it changed many things in my career . it's really a good clue for those who are interested in EHR implementation . the article is written by Dr. Kenneth G. Adler .

THE THREE T'S OF A SUCCESSFUL EHR IMPLEMENTATION

Team	Tactics	Technology
Identify one or more EHR champions or don't implement. Make sure your organization's senior executive fully supports the EHR. Use an experienced, skilled project manager. Utilize sound change management principles. Have clear, measurable goals. Make sure users share your goals. Establish realistic expectations. Don't try to implement an EHR in a dysfunctional organization.	Plan, plan, plan. Redesign your workflow. Don't automate processes just because you can; make sure the automation improves something. Design a balanced scanning strategy. Consistently enter key data into your new EHR charts. Get data into the EHR electronically when possible. Utilize a phased implementation. Train, train, train. Be flexible in your documentation strategy and allow individual differences in style. Don't “go live” on a Monday. Lighten your workload when you “go live” and for a short period afterward. Don't underestimate how much time and work is involved in becoming “expert” with an EHR. Pick a vendor with an excellent reputation for support. Utilize “power users” at each site.	Don't scrimp on your IT infrastructure. If you're a small practice, consider an application service provider (ASP) model. Make sure that your IT personnel do adequate testing. Utilize expert IT advice when it comes to servers and networks. Make sure your servers and interfaces are maintained on a daily basis. Back up your database at least daily. Have a disaster recovery plan and test it.

COMPANY BIOS:

MSO SOLUTIONS, LLC
1304 Buckley Road
Syracuse, New York 13212
Phone: 315.484.8885
http://www.msosolutions.com/

About us...

MSO Solutions, LLC is dedicated to providing full service Information Technology Outsourcing and EMR/EHR Consulting services for Corporate Clients and Physician Practices.

Our mission is to provide our customers with practice Information Technology solutions in a timely and cost effective manner, which will allow our clients to reach their financial, technological, professional and personal goals; all while maintaining the highest standard in patient and customer service.

MSO Solutions, LLC has 9 years of Information Technology consulting and service. We are based in Syracuse, New York and have a diverse clientele that includes small-to-medium sized businesses and physician practices.